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By Barry DeCicco, September 23, 2010

A Review of ‘A Step-by-Step Approach to Using SAS for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling’ (Larry Hatcher). By Barry DeCicco, September 23, 2010. Do I recommend this book?.

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By Barry DeCicco, September 23, 2010

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  1. A Review of ‘A Step-by-Step Approach to Using SAS for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling’ (Larry Hatcher) By Barry DeCicco, September 23, 2010

  2. Do I recommend this book? • Yes - if you are looking to start performing factor analyses and structural equations modeling (SEM) in SAS, and you do not have extensive experience in other statistics packages, especially if your math/stats background is weak. • No - if you are familiar with factor analysis/SEM in other packages, then you can probably go to the SAS/STAT user’s guide, and learn the new syntax (see ‘other resources’ slide near the end). B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  3. What this book is NOT • A matrix algebra explanation of factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  4. What this book IS • A light regression explanation of factor analysis and SEM. • A guide on how to perform that in SAS, what the goals are and how to interpret the results. • (in the appendices) an introduction to how to do things in SAS. • Approachable with a low level of statistical background. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  5. Outline of this book • Principle component analysis (looking for combinations of observed variables). • Factor analysis (looking for latent variables which explain observed variables). • Scale reliability (a short chapter, need-to-know material only). • Path analysis – manifest (observed) variables only. • Measurement models/CFA (linking manifest with latent variables to evaluate measurement quality). • Structural equation analysis – manifest variables measuring latent variables which are linked to each other; this book also covers model-fitting. • Appendices on how to use SAS, write programs, enter data, and handle output. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  6. What needs supplementing • Fit indices – they cover a variety of fit indices and helpfully list them by portion of the model being tested (pg 391), but this field is rapidly evolving. • ODS – this is a pre-ODS book, and I found ODS extremely helpful in getting output into useable form (e.g., into Excel). B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  7. What I liked • Extremely step-by-step. • Good explanation on how to estimate reliabilities of latent variables. I was able to estimate reliabilities and ‘true’ correlations of latent factors, comparing them to a more naïve approach. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  8. Comment on SAS Syntax • With SEM, Proc Calis requires multiple long lists of linear equations. • Using Excel formulae to write them out saves a lot of time: B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  9. Comment: SAS vs. AMOS • I worked on learning Proc CALIS (the classic SEM procedure for SAS) with this book at the same time I was learning AMOS, which is the SPSS SEM package. • AMOS has a graphical user interface. • This is great; one can draw models, and AMOS can automatically fill in multiple items. • Sometimes AMOS’s ‘help’ isn’t so helpful. • I was surprised that it was frequently no harder to do things in SAS than in a GUI-driven program. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  10. The Sweet Side of AMOS B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  11. The Sour Side of AMOS B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  12. Other resources for this topic • ‘A Handbook of Statistical Analyses with SAS’ has a chapter on factor analysis; nothing on SEM. • SAS Help documents ‘The FACTOR Procedure’, ‘Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling with Latent Variables‘ and ‘The CALIS Procedure’ cover the syntax, and have very condensed introductions to the material. • http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/default.htm has a very large body of very well done work on how to use SAS, and how to run statistical analyses. • Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis, by G. David Garson (http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/statnote.htm) The best site on the internet for people who find themselves needing to do a lot of graduate-level statistics, without the graduate degree in statistics. It generally assumes the use of SPSS, but the concepts translate. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

  13. Where to get this presentation • Go to the Ann Arbor ASA website: https://sites.google.com/site/annarborasa/ • Choose ‘Presentations and Class Materials’ on the left-hand menu: https://sites.google.com/site/annarborasa/A2ASA/presentations-and-class-materials • Look for the folder ‘September 2010 MSUG Presentation’. This presentation and any associated documents will be there. B. DeCicco, MSUG, 23 Sep 10

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